I took my 2001 A4 into the dealership last week to get the 60,000 mile maintainence done. I've only had the car for 2 months now and it wasn't bought from and Audi dealership, so i figured I'd have some Audi specialists looks at my car. Well anyway, they told me that a gear was missing in the steering rack, I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue, and what are some potential causes for it? My car only has 59,000 miles on it.

 

I'm not sure what they mean a "gear is missing". That diagnosis makes no sense.

Steering racks when they fail, usually leak. Are you losing steering fluid? Are you having any steering symptoms? Does your power steering work?

Find a VW/Audi shop that isn't attached to a dealership. Dealerships tend to be much more expensive than independent shops